The present invention relates to cable brakes, and more particularly to a cable brake and lock mechanism ideally adapted to control the deployment of cables in mooring submarine devices.
Numerous devices exist which are used control the deployment, or payout, of mooring lines and cables to moor marine and submarine devices, such as buoys and mines. Examples of such devices in the prior art are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,971,462, 2,997,970, 3,010,416, 3,039,391 and 3,109,370, which employ electronic, magnetic, barometric means, and combinations thereof to gage the length of cable deployed to adjust or stop the payout of the cable storage spool via complex controls. In general, the prior art devices are cumbersome, complex and expensive, and consequently do not adapt readily to numerous, diverse applications.
Less complex cable brakes and cable locks exist, of course, such as those described in the U.S. Patents to Armour, U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,613, and to Clevett, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 2,818,622, which utilize the constriction of a cable passage through an elastomeric brake element resulting from a compression of the element, or the wedging action of a tapered brake and lock element to clamp the cable, such as described in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,469 to Shand et al and U.S. Pat. No. 2,066,094 to Crawford. These devices, however, are generally manually operated and are not readily applicable to a submarine environment.
A requirement thus exists for a control device to regulate the deployment of a cable in the mooring of submarine apparatuses. Such a device must be automatic in operation and still be simple of construction and compact in size. It must operate reliably in a severe marine environment for prolonged exposure periods, and be capable of maintaining the desired mooring depth within specified limits. The present invention achieves all of these objectives while avoiding the deficiencies of the prior art mechanisms.